Lead Scrum Master

With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

Job Summary

The Lead Scrum Master will facilitate a product development team using Scrum/Agile methodologies. The ideal candidate will have a strong technical background and the ability to manage multiple complex projects across various interfaces. The role ensures adherence to Agile principles, effective preparation of product and sprint backlogs, and maintenance of burn-down charts.

Job Description

1. Responsibilities:

2. Project Management:

   • Manage each project’s scope and timeline.
   • Coordinate sprints, retrospective meetings, and daily stand-ups.
   • Ensure deliverables meet quality standards at the end of each sprint.
   • Develop plans to ensure timely delivery of team work.

3. Team Coaching and Facilitation:

   • Coach team members in Agile frameworks.
   • Facilitate internal communication and effective collaboration.
   • Guide development teams to higher Scrum maturity.
   • Help build a productive environment where team members ‘own’ the product and enjoy working on it.

4. Stakeholder Communication:

   • Be the point of contact for external communications (e.g., from customers or stakeholders).
   • Work with product owners to handle backlogs and new requests.
   • Effectively communicate progress and blockages to project managers/delivery managers.

5. Conflict Resolution and Problem Solving:

   • Resolve conflicts and remove obstacles that occur.
   • Help teams implement changes effectively.
   • Ensure all change governance and standards are adhered to.
   • Maintain code quality.

6. Requirements and Skills:

7. Experience:

   • Proven experience in a Scrum Master role.
   • Familiarity with software development.

8. Knowledge:

   • Excellent knowledge of Scrum techniques and artifacts (e.g., definition of done, user stories, automated testing, backlog refinement).
   • Good knowledge of other Agile frameworks (e.g., Crystal, XP).

9. Skills:

   • Excellent communication and servant leadership skills.
   • Problem-solving and conflict-resolution abilities.
   • Outstanding organizational skills.

10. Accountability: Delivery Capability

    • Lead multiple sprints for teams using Agile methodology.
    • Facilitate Scrum ceremonies (Daily Stand-ups, Sprint Planning, Sprint Reviews, and Retrospectives).
    • Ensure SCRUM artifacts are maintained and updated.
    • Manage multiple complex projects, ensuring timely delivery and alignment with business goals.
    • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless project execution.

11. Accountability: Management

    • Adapt style to contribute and enhance overall team performance.
    • Lead or manage a variety of teams and projects.
    • Deal comfortably with ambiguity and uncertainty.
    • Track actual project costs against budget and manage delivery within time/cost/quality constraints.

12. Accountability: Application Management

    • Understand how service support applies to the technical function.
    • Experience in incident & problem management disciplines.
    • Maintain configuration items, raise changes, and plan releases.
    • Develop and maintain technical reference documents.
    • Familiar with technical documentation standards, guidelines, and best practices.

13. Accountability: Stakeholder Management

    • Manage and develop relationships with key decision-makers and stakeholders.
    • Use stakeholder management strategies effectively.
    • Facilitate and negotiate with multiple parties to achieve agreement and resolution.
    • Clearly communicate complex ideas to stakeholders, peers, and subordinates.
    • Adapt style to enhance team performance across a wide range of disciplines and levels.

14. Experience:

    • Proven experience in a Scrum Master role, ideally leading multiple teams and managing complex projects.
    • Familiarity with software development processes and practices.
    • Strong knowledge and practical experience with Scrum and other Agile frameworks (e.g., Crystal, XP).
    • Experience in managing project scope, timelines, and deliverables.
    • Demonstrated ability to coach and lead development teams to higher Scrum maturity.
    • Experience in managing relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

15. Qualifications:

    • Education: A bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field is preferred.
    • Certifications:
      • Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) or Professional Scrum Master (PSM) certification.
      • Additional Agile certifications (e.g., SAFe Agilist, PMI-ACP) are a plus.

    • Technical Skills:

      • Proficiency in Agile tools such as Agile Hive, Jira, or similar.
      • Understanding of software development languages and frameworks is beneficial.

    • Soft Skills:

      • Excellent communication and servant leadership skills.
      • Strong problem-solving and conflict-resolution abilities.
      • Outstanding organizational and time-management skills.

Education

National Certificate: Information Technology

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.

Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised.